Wrestler secures award twice

Mitchell Fucile, sophomore business major, has already made Lakeland College history by being the first Muskie in over a decade to receive the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III Scholar All-American award twice, but he plans to set the bar even higher.

“My overall goal is to receive the honor for another two more years in a row,” Fucile said. “I would like to become a four-time Academic All-American and a National Champion.”

Fucile’s accomplishments are the culmination of a lifetime’s worth of training and perseverance. He first started wrestling not very long after learning to walk.

Fucile’s athletic prowess shined at Chilton High School where he was a four-year letter winner on the wrestling team and also lettered three years in baseball, two years in cross country and one year in football.

This season, he became the first Lakeland wrestler since 2012 to advance to the NCAA Division III Championships and had a 1-2 record at the national championships while participating at 165 pounds.

Fucile finished his season with a 22-13 match record.

“The best moments of my wrestling career would be making the state finals my senior year of (high school) and making it to nationals this year,” Fucile said.

Aside from wrestling, Fucile takes part in the student-athlete Bible study on campus. He is an active member of the Bradley Theatre staff and even acted as a German soldier in the recent production of “Cabaret.” He has taken a wide variety of classes, including fiction writing.

Ultimately, Fucile would like to work at ACUITY Insurance after graduation.

“I love Lakeland because I’m not a number here, I’m a person,” Fucile said. “I am excited to be a part of Lakeland College history and hope to make more history in the next two years of my wrestling career.”